Dear Editor:
I want to set the record straight after being misquoted by Brian E. Grutman in his responsive letter to mine of 12/12/02, Mr. Grutman credits me with stating taking the position that I "claim(s) that it is the law that is killing all of these American citizens, not policy. I claimed no such thing. In fact, my position is that all degreed nurses should be H-1B's, but as anyone who can read my letter can see, I am silent on the issue of who is, or is not, responsible for "killing all of these American citizens". It is Mr. Grutman, not I, who takes the position that immigration law or immigration policy is the culprit for causing deaths in America. In my opinion it is the profession itself, the licensing process and the entire health care system in the US that is responsible for the nursing shortage, not INS policy against importing foreign nurses so people like Mr. Grutman can make big money recruiting them.
Mr. Grutman misses the point because he does not understand H-1B visa law and he obviously did not understand my letter, which made it perfectly clear why most nurses, including critical care nurses, do not qualify for H-1B visas. Obviously, the INS disagrees that a critical care nurse rises to a "specialty occupation", notwithstanding Mr. Grutman's assertion that, "the expertise, education, training and experience necessary to fill a critical care position far exceed the minimum education needed to qualify a registered nurse for an RN license."
If Mr. Grutman continues to disagree with the INS position, and stands on his statement, he can always put his money where his mouth is and hire competent legal counsel to appeal an INS denial of an H-1B critical care nurse, and if unsuccessful on appeal to the BIA (which is almost a certainty), and if, as he alludes in his impassioned letters, the size of his heart is larger than the sum of money his company will make by importing H-1B nurses to the USA, he can exercise his legal rights by taking the critical care nurse denial all the way to the Federal District Court for their interpretation as to whether or not the law is being properly applied by the INS. That's the American way.